Museum of Witchcraft and Magic

3489 – Handmade wooden athame

Physical description:

Light-weight and light-coloured wood, possibly Ash. A rounded handle and flat blade with carvings on both.

Museum classification:

Modern Witchcraft

Size:

2.5cm x 21.5cm

Information:

This athame was hand-carved by Anne Darby herself. On the handle is a Futhark rune for 'M' or 'Man' and on the blade is a pentacle. Around the handle there are four arrangements of five dots, but we are unsure what these represent.

These items belonged to a witch called Anne Darby. She was born in Essex in 1953 and died in Devon in 2016. The items were donated by Maia Miller, the district manager of the Pagan Federation of Devon and Cornwall.